The Observer, February 18, 2005
Volume XXXVII, Issue 18
Free Speech Zone: Catholic Church traditions, practices misconceived
To the Editor:
As someone who chose to convert to Catholicism, despite coming from an all-Methodist family, I have probably been more exposed to the inner practices and beliefs of the church than 95 percent of the people. This exposure has helped me realize that the main problem the church faces today isn't that it's archaic, but that it's highly misconceived by the public. I am writing this in an attempt to explain some common misconceptions.
For example, issues such as birth control, abortion, and gay marriage are not church doctrine (meaning that all Catholics must believe these are wrong), but are church teachings (meaning that this is current stance of the church, as directed by the Holy Scriptures). However, the church values individual choice, so despite its teachings the church leaves the choice to the parishioner and is accepting of that choice. In this sense, in people's unequivocal ability to choose for themselves where they stand on important issues, the church is blazingly liberal and forgiving compared to people's misperceptions. Unfortunately, most people do not realize the flexibility of mind that the church offers; the church simply teaches and allows individuals to pray for personal insight. For example, I still believe that I don't have the right to chose what's right for someone else, and that trumps the teachings of the church in issues such as abortion and gay marriage.
One must also take into account the circumstances under which church tradition has been formed. The issue of an unwed, all-male clergy stems from centuries of tradition, which is another value of the church (in fact, the Catholic – or "universal"– Church traces its lineage of the papacy to Peter, one of the twelve apostles). Despite this 2000-year tradition, I believe the church realizes this tradition is out-of-date, and will probably allow married clergy in the future. The church is not afraid of great change, as exemplified by Vatican II, which reformed the traditions of the church to make it more accessible to people. (For example, it reversed the tradition that Masses were done in Latin so that people of all languages could understand them).
In light of these explanations, I hope that I have somewhat enlightened you to some misunderstandings of the Catholic Church. I ask that the uneducated public realizes and understands the church's current delicate balancing act of appeasing the masses while remaining true to value and tradition.
Crystal Antes
Undergraduate Student
